Photo courtesy of Roger Gradney
2024 Husker Signee Analysis: Defensive Back Roger Gradney
Football has always been a copycat sport and a game of chess between offenses and defenses. The west coast offense, Tampa-2 defense, if a system gives a team fits, rest assured it'll be adopted by most everyone else.
With the advent of the no-huddle RPO spread offenses that have been prevalent in college football for the last 15-plus years, defenses have had to adjust. With offenses trying to exploit numbers and play in space, back-end defenders need to be as positionless as their offensive counterparts.
Players on the second level of the defense need to be able to fill gaps in the run game, but they also need to be versatile enough to occupy a spot in a zone and athletic enough to cover backs, tight ends and slot receivers man-to-man.
This is why it's more and more common to see linebackers who are bulked-up former safeties. In today's game, you gotta be able to run. If it's not spread systems, it's wide-open passing offenses you're contending with each week.
This is one of the reasons I anticipate Altair (Texas) Rice Consolidated athlete Roger Gradney will eventually move down a level in defensive coordinator Tony White's 3-3-5 system.
The 6-foot, 205-pound Gradney was the first commitment of this class. Defensive backs coach Evan Cooper loved his early junior tape and was in consistent contact with him after arriving at Nebraska. When the staff transitioned to the 2024 cycle, they made him one of their early targets and offered him on Feb. 19. Gradney committed the following day.
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It's probably fitting that he was the founding member of the class since he's a perfect representation of what this staff covets on the recruiting trail. Nebraska's coaches emphasize characteristics like verified athleticism, height, length, two-way or three-phase snaps and multi-sport participation. Gradney checks all of those boxes.
He ran track as a sophomore and competed at state in the 100 meters and 200 meters, while also competing in the triple jump and the discus. His PRs include 10.88 (100m), 22.41 (200m), 52.84 (400m), 135' 7" (discus), 44' 1.5" (triple jump). He also participated in the 4x100, 4x200 and 4x400 relays.
He played only five games as a junior after learning he had been playing with a torn labrum for three years. He had surgery in December 2022, and missed track season last spring while rehabbing. He played every game as a senior, though, and didn't experience any major setbacks. He dealt with some lingering hip pain after the season, however, but it's not expected to be a long-term issue.
At the time of his commitment, his only other offers were from Texas Tech, UTSA and FCS program Campbell. He'd been hearing from several Power Five schools including Notre Dame in September of his junior year, but contact waned after his injury revelation.
He was starting to hear from programs like Houston, Duke, Vanderbilt and Utah State also, but he wasn't getting the notice his talent deserved. This is likely because he missed most of his junior year and plays at a lower level (3A), in a small town (population of 4,400) that isn’t a regular stop for many Power Five programs. That's coupled with the fact he didn't hit the camp circuit in the spring/summer of 2022 because of a family emergency.
He was a two-way standout for Rice Consolidated and was also a dangerous return man on special teams. Along with playing safety, cornerback and linebacker on defense, Gradney was used as a hybrid running back and receiver, and used as a Wildcat on offense. He has scored touchdowns four different ways: rushing, receiving, kickoff return, punt return.
Gradney was in Lincoln for the star-studded junior day weekend March 24-26 that featured four five-star and roughly a dozen more four-star recruits. He was one of several visitors who attended Nebraska’s baseball game at Hawks Field that Friday and was taken aback by the number of fans who knew who he was and asked for pictures and autographs.
He returned for his official visit June 23-25, where head coach Matt Rhule and running backs coach E.J. Barthel told him they were open to the idea of using him on offense as a running back in some packages and would give him a look as a return man when he got on campus.
Gradney is one of the best all-around athletes in Texas. He's rated a four-star prospect by 247Sports and ESPN, yet amazingly enough, circumstances led to him being under the radar.
Rhule has talked about how some schools "airport recruit" in talent hotbeds like Texas. They'll fly into DFW and drive within a 40-mile radius to maximize their time since there is so much talent in the immediate area. Well, those coaches aren't going to find a guy like Gradney doing that - but the Huskers did. He's 250 miles from Dallas and 80 miles from Houston - which happens to be an area where several assistants on staff have connections.
Gradney is the textbook definition of "football player." He's been a do-it-all athlete for Rice Consolidated, but once he's able to settle into a position and learn the nuances of it and learn the defense, he could really take off. Some teams recruited him to play running back, receiver, cornerback and safety, but I'm of the opinion his ceiling is highest at the second level where he can use his elite athleticism to cover in space and show off his physicality in the box.
Gradney enrolled early, is taking part in winter conditioning and will participate in spring practices. It's going to be interesting to watch where he ends up in this defense. Is he an in-the-box safety? A rover? He has a ton of potential and should be a major factor somewhere for Tony White soon.
